Is this The End?

𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙥!

I barely had time to react before my brother’s hand landed on the back of my head.

“Are you trying to burn the house down, 𝙑𝙖𝙖𝙣𝙞?” he snapped. “It’s burning, idiot. If you don’t know how to cook, don’t touch the stove.”

I glared at him, rubbing my head. “Why are you hitting me?”

The kitchen smelled like comfort and chaos. His gajar ka halwa filled the air with sweetness while my chole bhature announced their suffering loudly from the pan. He was practically a professional when it came to cooking. Me? I was trying. That should count for something.

A few steps away, my mother sighed quietly and pulled the bhature off the stove before they turned into charcoal. She said nothing. She rarely did when it came to our daily nonsense.

Just then, my father walked in.

“Happy birthday, papa!” we yelled together.

He froze for a second, surprised, then smiled. That soft smile that made everything feel okay. The kind that made the world feel less heavy.

I grabbed his hand immediately. “Papa, sit at the table. Quickly. We made your favourites.”

He didn’t say anything. Just nodded and let me drag him along.

Mama brought the food out, placing everything neatly like it wasn’t a battlefield five minutes ago. I watched my father closely as he took the first bite. My heart thumped like I’d committed a crime.

“It’s delicious,” he said.

I smiled. Warmly. Happily. Even though I knew my chole were overcooked and the bhature were half-burnt. No one said a word. No complaints. No teasing. Just love.

I wished for nothing else in that moment. Just this. Their happiness.

---

The next morning, my phone buzzed me awake.

“Vaani, I can’t come to college today,” my best friend groaned from the other side. “Some work came up.”

I groaned louder, threw my phone aside, and dragged myself out of bed.

Downstairs, my family was already having breakfast.

“You pig!” my brother yelled the second he saw me. “You’re wearing my shirt again.”

I stuck my tongue out at him deliberately.

Papa chuckled. Mama shook her head. My brother glared harder.

Hmmp! He couldn’t do anything while papa was around.

After breakfast, I left for college with my earphones plugged in. My playlist was a mess, full of item songs that make me want to dance,I let it play and my mood instantly got better.

On my way to college, while crossing the road, I saw a little boy. Barely five years old. He ran after his ball, straight onto the road, while his mother argued with a vendor nearby.

I didn’t think.

My legs moved on their own.

I remember seeing a truck coming in our direction. I remember pushing him away. I remember relief flooding me for half a second.

Then the impact.

Pain. Noise. Darkness.

I collapsed on the road with blood oozing out from my head.

I don’t want to die.

If I die,

Who will trouble mama now?

Who will papa buy gifts for?

Who will tease with bhaiya?

What about the novel I still haven’t finished reading?